The present disclosure relates generally to the field of vehicle seating. More specifically, this disclosure relates to a recliner mechanism having a recliner pawl member.
It is generally known to provide vehicle seat assemblies having a recliner mechanism so that a vehicle seat occupant may selectively adjust the seat back in various comfort positions as well as to move the seat back to a stow position relative to the seat base. Conventional recliner mechanisms (such as those used in automotive and airline seats) include a pawl member for locking the recliner member in a given position. It is also advantageous to have a pawl member having angled teeth which function to reduce the play (or looseness) in the recliner mechanism. However, angled teeth typically trade off strength due to the angle of the tooth creating a force to back-drive the pawl member out of engagement. The loss of engagement and the subsequent reduction in shear area of the angled tooth causes the pawl to shear below its potential maximum value. Moreover, with conventional, relatively small disc style recliner mechanisms used in vehicle seats, the base plate which the pawl reacts against may deform under high loads. The conventional, relatively small disc style recliner mechanisms have tight tolerance requirements as the material creating the pivot on these recliners typically is very close to the pawl member (or tooth plate or sector) in which the pawl member locks the recliner mechanism. This may reduce the strength of the recliner mechanism and its ability to transfer loads. There remains a significant and continuing need to provide an improved recliner mechanism that can transfer greater loads than existing designs.